Bulgaria: Prospective Director Generals outline Eurovision Plans

The Eurovision Song Contest has been one of the important issues for the candidates hoping to become Director General of Bulgarian broadcaster BNT, according to eurovision-bg.com.

Today was the first day of the speeches from those who wish to take over the position, organised by the Bulgarian Council for Electronic Media (CEM). Two of the six candidates for the position were speaking to members of CEM and they were the current Director General of BNT Vyara Ankova, and Valeriy Todorov who served two terms at the head of the Bulgarian National Radio.

During the meeting both candidates presented their concept for development of the media in the future 3-year management period for which CEM has held an open competition. A significant part of their presentations was the”Eurovision Song Contest, and the future Bulgarian participation in the event. Both candidates confirmed their desire to develop the project in new directions.

The current BNT Director General, Vyara Ankova, expressed her desire to keep Bulgaria taking part in Eurovision. According to her, the public television has a commitment to provide access of Bulgarian performers to the largest European stage. Vyara Ankova emphasized not only the “Eurovision Song Contest”, but also mentioned other productions of the EBU. On one specific question as to whether the format of the Bulgarian song selection show for Eurovision will remain the same as in 2013, Ankova said she is working on a new concept based on a reality production.

In his concept, Valeriy Todorov said he sees the future of the “Eurovision” in a closer cooperation between BNT and other media. He also emphasised the fun of music programs, and claimed that the public television should avoid commercial formats.

The race for Director General of BNT will continue over the next two days. The other candidates – Konstantin Kamenarov, Radostlav Glavtchev (July, 23rd), Oli Grueva and Krassimir Angelov (July, 24th) wil leach speak about their visions on set days, with the CEM announcing their choice no later than July 26th.